What is mythology?

newsela.com /read/elem-mythology/id/34507

Myths are stories from all over the world and date back to ancient times. Some tell how the world was created.
Others explain why certain events happen. There are many myths about gods and human heroes, and they often
share useful knowledge or wisdom.

Background
Long ago, people did not have the sciences to help them understand the world. For instance, they did not yet know
why the sun rises each morning. They did not understand the process of how seasons change. Ancient people
experienced death and coped with disasters. However, they did not always understand what caused them.

Cultures developed stories to help make sense of the unpredictable world. These tales became oral traditions. They
were passed from one generation to the next through storytelling. In this way, myths became beliefs. Mythology
became closely associated with religion.

Types Of Myths
Mythology differs from culture to culture. Each group of people lived in unique environments. They created their own
views about the world. But all myths try to answer basic questions: How was the world created? How did life begin?
Why is there evil in the world?

Different cultures have different explanations about how the world was created. Some myths describe an all-
powerful god that created the world. For example, a myth of the Polynesian people tells that the god Io formed the
world out of water and darkness.

To explain the creation of human beings, an ancient story from India described a being called the Self. When the
Self became lonely, it divided into two parts man and woman. Their children became the human race. The
Sumerians are an ancient Middle Eastern people. According to their myths, the water god told his mother to mold
bits of clay into the shapes of people. Other cultures thought of humans as descendants of a sun god. These
included civilizations in Egypt and Japan.

1/2
Many cultures also have myths explaining why there is evil in the world. For example, a famous Greek myth tells the
story of Pandora. Out of curiosity, she opened a dangerous jar. It released sickness and other kinds of evil into the
world. Other myths explain the origins of animals, plants, weather and other natural events.

Twenty Greek gods. Painting by Raphael. Image: Public Domain.

Collection Of Myths
Many cultures developed stories about groups of supernatural beings, or gods. The ancient Egyptians had many
gods. Some resembled humans and others looked like animals. The doglike god Anubis was the god of the dead.
Re was the sun god with a man's body and a falcon's head.

Norse mythology developed later in northern Europe. Odin and Thor were two of its main gods. They and other
Norse gods lived in a place called Asgard. If warriors died bravely in battle, they were taken to Valhalla to live on.

The ancient Greeks also worshiped many gods. They believed that a family of major gods lived on Mount Olympus.
Some of its members changed over time, but Zeus was always the king of the gods.

The Greeks eventually wrote down their myths, retelling them in poems and plays. They describe the adventures of
the gods and great heroes. The Greeks viewed their myths as timeless truths. Their ideas influenced not only
literature, but the thinking of Greek philosophers as well.

The ancient Romans borrowed much of their mythology from the Greeks, but gave many of the Greek gods new
names. For example, Zeus became Jupiter, Athena became Minerva. The great Roman poet Ovid preserved these
myths in his works. The stories became sources of poetry, drama, painting and other art forms. They continue to
influence our stories and art today.

2/2